Tooth and Claw, Part 22

You hurry after Fallhazel, her long strides forcing you to jog to catch up. The druid is clearly distressed at what she has learned, still trying to reconcile it with the life she has known until now. She's searching her soul for answers to painful questions, questions that she doesn't even fully understand herself.

"Fallhazel..." you call out. "Fallhazel! Wait!"

The druid whirls back around to face you, her eyes uncertain and suspicious. With her view of the world in turmoil, she isn't sure who she can trust, least of all the demon from Kovora. You'll need to play this very carefully. Fortunately, you've already laid some groundwork during the ride here.

"Is something wrong?" you ask. You pretend to be puzzled by her sudden actions, even as you infuse concern into your voice. "I... know this must be a lot to take in. If there really is a piece of Feyal still alive somewhere out there... I can't even imagine what that could mean for the Forest as a whole. If she cares about Nature in the same way that I care about Pleasure... having an ally like that could change so much for you, in your situation with the mortals."

Then you chuckle, shaking your head. "At least we finally know why Melca is so obsessed with killing Juri. A secret like this... she'd probably do anything to make sure that no one ever learned of it."

While on the surface it's merely commentary about the unexpected revelation, the deeper aim is to establish yourself as trustworthy. Remind Fallhazel of your role in bringing Juri to her. Plant the idea in her mind that this can't be a trick, since Melca would never risk letting this terrible weakness be revealed. And frame yourself, once again, as someone she can relate to. Someone more similar in nature to her than she is to the mortals. A servant of Pleasure, in a way she can understand.

She still makes a point of watching you carefully. But you can see her relax a little, in spite of herself. "Melca will not harm the child," the druid says stiffly. "I... still have many questions for her. There is much that she and I must discuss, in the fullness of time. After the immediate threat has been dealt with."

You nod. "How long do we have? Until the Divine Beasts arrive?"

Fallhazel kneels, placing her palm on the earth and closing her eyes. "We made good time getting here," she says. "They will not catch up until tonight. It will give us time to prepare."

"It will give us time to rest," you correct. The druid looks up you with a frown, but you ignore it and press on, speaking firmly and with earnest conviction. "You were running all night, Fallhazel. Carrying both of us as fast as you could, for the entire journey here. Whatever extra planning we do... it won't mean much if you slip up because you went into a fight dead tired. Getting some sleep is the best thing you can do for our chances."

The druid's mouth flattens into an annoyed line. She probably does have the fortitude to keep going if she wanted to push herself... but she can't deny that it might expose her to simple mistakes she wouldn't have made otherwise. You let that idea settle in her mind, before prodding again. "Please," you say. "Even if it's just for a little while. I know you'll feel so much better. And you'll be able to plan with a clearer head as well."

Fallhazel exhales. "Very well," she says, grousing a bit. "Your suggestion is... not without merit, demon. I will return before long." And with that she shifts into an owl and flies away, her small form soon lost into the depths of the forest.

Walking over to a random tree, you lean back against the trunk and slide down it, closing your own eyes as you let yourself relax. Soon—to all outward appearances—you are sleeping as well. But beneath that facade you are reaching out with your demonic power, searching the Plane of Dreams for the telltale signs that Fallhazel's soul has entered that ephemeral realm.

It takes a while. But once the druid does begin to dream, you slip in effortlessly. Once again, you can sense the vast ocean of memory spreading out before you. The remembrance of so many years of life. Scene after scene flashes past, giving you countless glimpses of the druid living out the way of the forest in its countless different forms.

In your previous visit to her dreams, she was dreaming of a time she'd spent as a hawk. But it isn't only the powerful and the predatory that Fallhazel partakes in. You see memories of just as much time spent inhabiting the life of the prey. Mice, rabbits, deer. Though even in those forms she is perfection itself, darting between the claws of any pursuers with effortless grace, playing out that ancient dance from the weaker side as well.

Knowing what you know now of her soul's origin, it's obvious why she followed this path. She exults in these rhythms of Life, in all their beauty and terror. It is that cycle—that primal heartbeat of the world—that enraptures her. No matter which perspective she experiences it from.

Just like the last time you did this, Fallhazel is unaware of your presence. This time, however, rather than continue to conceal yourself from the dreaming druid, you bring her to full lucidity. Fallhazel appears beside you in that swirling stream of memory, disoriented at first. But she recovers almost immediately, doing her best to conceal any trace of weakness.

"Demon," she greets you, her eyes narrowing. "I take it this is why you were so insistent that I sleep before the battle?"

You nod, dropping your "puzzled" act as you match her serious look with one of your own. "I thought we should discuss what you really just learned about yourself," you say. "This seemed the best way to ensure our conversation would be... private."

She clearly takes the implied meaning. That you do know that she was once Feyal. And also that it's crucial to keep Melca in the dark as much as possible. She regards you in silence for a few moments... before abruptly turning to look out across the sea of memories surrounding the two of you.

"How far back through these can you search?" she asks, gesturing at the jumbled flashes of her life. "Could you... call up a time that I myself no longer remember?"

Even now, she's struggling to come to terms with what she's learned. She's looking for something—a memory, an experience—that will help her make sense of it. That will make it feel real to her.

Obligingly, you raise your hand. With a single gesture you send the flood of memories racing back around you at dizzying speed. Centuries fly past in the blink of an eye, as you watch the growth of the Great Forest play itself out in reverse, seen from the perspective of the one who has tended it all this time.

Eventually you reach one single image, frozen in time. A small, nondescript figure of vaguely female shape lying curled up in a ball. Her fragile-looking form is half-buried in earth... almost as though she had emerged from it.

"This is the first thing I remember," Fallhazel says quietly, watching next to you. "This moment. Being alone. And not knowing why."

"You're not alone anymore," you say. But then you raising your hand again. It's time to truly put your improved Dreamwalking power to the test... and see if you can pull out more from the depths of Fallhazel's soul than even she herself can consciously recall.

With another gesture, you dive even further back into the flowing current of memory. From this point on it requires far more effort than before. What were once cohesive images now become broken slivers of sensation, not forming into any coherent picture. You simply feel loss and pain and fear and the need to hide, hide, hide.

It's impossible to tell exactly how much time is passing... but you're certain that the missing gap is immense. Whatever Feyal did to survive—however the goddess cast off this one tiny fragment of herself to keep it from Melca's grasp—it was many, many years before it recovered enough to form even a weak body with conscious awareness. Gritting your teeth, you continue to press past the resistance, even deeper into the discordant scraps of mindless recollection.

The further back you go, the more resistance you feel. There's just so little memory left to go on. So much lost to the howling void of nothingness. And yet... she hasn't lost everything. You strain past the pain and the fear, straining for any scrap of recollection, however buried and fragmentary. Until slowly—achingly slowly—an image starts to form before you.

Even the shapes are indistinct. The only two colors are blood-red and shadow-black. But you can see two figures. One figure is bound with writhing, supernatural restraints of some kind. While the other strikes at her with what must be a whip. The blurred world of the memory cracks and shudders with each blow. And while the expressions of the two are guesswork at best... somehow you cannot help but feel an overwhelming sense of crazed glee from the movements of the assailant, as a hint of sadistic laughter echoes back across the ages from this ancient memory of betrayal.

The real Fallhazel steps toward the memory, looking back and forth between the bound figure and the figure of her sister. She is silent for a long time, before finally speaking. "I... still have no memory of this..." she says quietly. "Even now, seeing it before me, I... cannot bring it to mind. Except..." She flinches. "...there is... a connection nonetheless. An emotion. One that resonates. Deeper than I can explain."

She's starting to believe. She already knew it intellectually... but now she's starting to believe.

You walk forward, circling the scene of violence, subtly drawing Fallhazel's attention back to Melca's figure. "When we talked before... I told you that the true danger to your forest was civilization itself," you say. "But I was wrong. The fact that you still live is the single greatest threat to Melca's stolen power in all the mortal realm. And that is something she cannot abide."

The figment of Melca lands a few more vicious blows. You let the strikes play out to emphasize your point, before continuing. "It won't be enough to merely attack Kovora, as the heroines plan to do. Neither you nor your forest will ever be safe. Not so long as Melca herself lives."

Fallhazel looks you right in the eye. "You make a bold offer, demon. Many would consider it a foolhardy one."

"It can be done," you insist, with every bit of charismatic intensity you can muster. "Especially with your help. You can hurt her like no one else can, Fallhazel. That's why she was so desperate to kill Juri. The bitch couldn't let anyone learn that she has a vulnerability like that."

The druid considers that. Then she turns away, looking at the indistinct image of Feyal once more. She walks closer to the shape of her former self, studying it with a gaze that seems at once fearful and tired.

"Then... if I do help you exploit this weakness... what will become of me?" she asks, her voice quiet. "Even if I can hurt her as you say... even if I can take back what Melca once tore from my soul... what else will come with it? Who would I be, once this thing is done? Fallhazel? Feyal? A druid? A goddess?"

She reaches out for the insubstantial memory, tracing her fingers along her own face. "Will it be me? Or... her?"

You're not sure what to say. Much of the answer she's seeking would probably depend on how this theoretical attack on Melca was carried out. Not to mention Fallhazel's own mindset going into it.

What does she even want? To recover everything that was taken from her, including her memories of that past life? Or to become divine again, but without any of those memories, just as she is now? Or to fully preserve the life she has here and now, a life that is much closer to that of a mortal?

You can see good arguments for all of them. Perhaps you could ease Fallhazel's uncertainty if you were to point out some of those arguments to her, the ones you find most convincing. It could offer her a concrete way to frame her conflicted feelings on the matter.

That isn't the only choice you'll need to make, however. You and Fallhazel also have the opportunity to discuss what you're going to do after this is over, considering how the druid is a particular target for the mad goddess who is even now worshiped by a large percentage of Kovora.

Melca must know that some part of Feyal had survived, considering her intense persecution of those who still clung to the fragments of her rituals. But does she know that Fallhazel is the remnant? You doubt it. There's no way she wouldn't have taken more decisive action against the forest sooner, if she'd realized who the reclusive, seldom-seen 'Witch of the Wood' truly was.

Or at least... she didn't know back then. How much might the mad goddess have deduced from what just happened, along with Fallhazel's reaction to it? You did your best to steer the conversation away. At the very least, you're confident that Melca doesn't realize that you figured it out. But the way things ended up going, you didn't have an opportunity to prepare Fallhazel beforehand. And as a result, the druid's reaction was much more evident.

Did Melca notice? Was it enough for her to start putting the pieces together, just as you did?

If the goddess does know—or even suspect—what Fallhazel is, it might cause Melca to take drastic action, sooner than you had planned. So far, you've been able to use her desire to preserve Kovora and the Witch Queen's bloodline as leverage. But if her own personal power is threatened, such considerations could be outweighed. She may demand Fallhazel's death outright.

And a significant portion of Kovora's army is still loyal to her. Not to mention the ecclesiastical forces of her church.

On the other hand, if you didn't want to risk having that showdown so soon, there are strategies that might buy you a little more time to prepare for such an ultimatum... albeit each with their own costs. If you didn't take Fallhazel back with you after seducing her, contriving some excuse to leave her here in the forest, it could help you stall the sadistic goddess for a bit longer. After all, Fallhazel would be out of her reach, giving her no direct way to force the issue.

That said, if she ever does start to suspect that you're stalling—that you're only pretending not to know Fallhazel's true nature—it could still boil over then. There might also be a slight morale hit to your recruitment efforts, due to not bringing back a heroine to show off as usual. And of course, it would limit the sort of missions that you could send Fallhazel on via Dreamwalking, since she would have to avoid Kovora.

Or... if you wanted to take an even more extreme approach... you could also pretend to fail in your mission. Use the privacy of this dream to convince Fallhazel to ally with you... but ask her to reject and attack you in the waking world, driving you away in "defeat". That would make it far easier to stall Melca for even longer, but at the cost of much less opportunity in the missions you can send Fallhazel on. And an even greater morale hit in Kovora due to your outright "failure".

This is your one chance to scheme with her, before you wake and need to start putting everything into practice. What do you suggest?